Just days ahead of a possible vote on same-sex marriage in the state, national LGBT organization GLAAD has announced that its "Commentator Accountability Project" now includes Illinois figures.
The project, which aims to educate reporters about vociferously anti-gay leaders who tend to be quoted in media, now includes profiles of two Illinois commentators.
David Smith and Laurie Higgins, both of the Illinois Family Institute, are profiled.
Smith grabbed attention this week with an NBC Chicago interview during which he predicted that same-sex marriage would not pass in Illinois. He also said that LGBT activists had deceived Illinoisans when civil unions were called to a vote, stating that activists denied that civil unions were a stepping stone to marriage (LGBT advocates refute that claim).
In recent weeks, Higgins has been vocal against efforts by East Aurora School Dist. 131 to adopt transgender protections.
Already included in the project was Peter LaBarbera, the Illinois-based founder of Americans for Truth About Homosexuality.
A statement put out by GLAAD announcing the new Illinois entries said that the organization does not want to keep those listed out of the media.
"But if a reporter is interviewing someone who insinuates that his or her political opponent is controlled by the devil, it's the reporter's journalistic responsibility to put that person's opinion in perspective," the statement reads.
